Going Against the Grain
by Leo the Tiger
Summary: A spin-off of Aparoids, but less deadly, known as demagars, come to attack Wildcat City, and the Star Fox team is called on to help.


Going Against the Grain

It was a new day in Wildcat City, and the town was already taking interest in its new arrivals. Having entered the day before, due to an effect of the aparoid saga that could not be reversed, the Star Fox team, General Pepper, and the Star Wolf team could never return to the Lylat System due to the effect the aparoids left on the gate. It was a bittersweet sight to see, but for the members of Corneria, they always gave their thanks to the heroes who liberated them. Since the people thought they died in the battle, they erected statues of them and found new capable beings to take over their spots, and General Pepper's second-in-command now replaced him (even though he had arranged for Peppy to have that honor).

"I don't get it," Slippy had made the comment as the Great Fox passed through the gate. "Why is it we can't go back?"

"When we went through the time gate, one last aparoid, in a suicidal move, caused a time shock that sent us here, never to return," Peppy replied, "but if this planet is our new permanent home, it will make as good a home as any. It must also mean I'm never going to reach retirement now, as this town has plenty of crime waves."

"Yes, but don't forget this is also the town where no one's ever gotten away with lawlessness," Fox spoke up. "It has an excellent police force and a killer superhero force. It also has Leo the Patriotic Lion."

"Who?" asked Krystal.

Fox brought up his computer's analysis on Leo and showed everybody the information on how he capitalized on the Kriegland tragedy with his speeches, also showing them the story behind the Kriegland tragedy. They studied it very closely, knowing it may come to their attention to solve a mystery one day.

As soon as the Great Fox found a place to land inside an abandoned area base that also allowed for the citizens of Kriegland to land, it was only natural Leo was waiting for them. He got acquainted with each of them and shook their hands. He also congratulated Beltino Toad (Slippy's dad) on his self-destruction program which killed all aparoids, due to their vulnerability to apoptosis.

When he learned of Wolf's ambitions, Leo made Wolf promise he would not try anything. Wolf replied, "I figured you'd insist on that. You may not realize this, Leo, but the fact is this: I've always told everybody that if anyone is worthy of tanning his hide, it is me. What I'm really saying is that nobody is going to tan Fox's hide, and it would only bring me grief one day, even if it brought me the revenge I've always wanted."

"I see," said Leo. "But I thought the team consisted of you, Leon, Pigma, and Andrew Oikonny. Perhaps I haven't been keeping up with the current news on your video game status. I've kept up with Sonic the Hedgehog, however."

"You are right in naming the original four," Wolf replied. "Oikonny quit us after his father died to seek revenge on that death, and I expelled Pigma from the team after his greedy nature became evident. He didn't care how many died or what would happen as long as it made him rich, and he was planning to be rich from the aparoid invasion, so he started the whole thing. But it backfired on him, I hear. Or did it, Fox?"

"Yes, it did, Wolf," Fox nodded. "The aparoids were able to take over other machines, and they could suck up your souls if you were not careful. That's what happened to Pigma, and as a result, he died when we destroyed the machine. Yet when the queen was destroyed after Beltino's self-destruct program went into operation, we managed to get General Pepper and Peppy out of there. She used what she absorbed, however, to make it sound like Pigma was speaking with them, and even my father's voice."

"And your dad is dead?" Leo asked.

"I don't know for sure. All I know is when Pigma betrayed him and revealed his work as a double agent for Andross, he was captured."

"And I barely got out of it alive," Peppy added. "You can tell by my voice I'm at retirement age, but it may not happen if this town's got all sorts of crooks."

"If the city employs your help, I'll inform you of it," Leo promised. "You I can't seem to fully trust, however, and I wish I could." His last remark was directed towards Wolf.

"The pressure's on me to keep my promise, then," Wolf replied. He turned to Fox. "You can quote me on that one, pup."

"Understood," Fox replied. "You have my word." Everyone went to eat dinner at the nearest diner, and the Lylat heroes used the sleeping quarters of the Great Fox to rest for the night.

The next day proved to be a rough one for the heroes of the Lylat System. They watched in awe as the Orbital Gate again opened up. To everyone's shock, there was Pigma's ship, and it was out of control! "That's Pigma's ship!" Panther exclaimed. "What's that doing here?"

"Pigma isn't on it," Krystal confirmed after using her telepathic abilities. "It's on auto pilot. He's definitely dead."

"Look out!" Slippy yelled. "It's headed right for us!"

"ROB, get the Great Fox to safety!" Peppy ordered.

"Affirmative!" ROB replied. He managed to get the large mothership up and running before it could take on damage from Pigma's ship. Pigma's ship crashed with explosive results, but it didn't damage any of the military base's barracks or other storage rooms, one of which held the fighter plane piloted by Captain Rick Welbourne of the famed KFF (Kriegland Freedom Fighters).

It soon became evident Rick was at the base, as he didn't want to see his beloved plane die for nothing. But it didn't, to his relief.

"Rick!" Leo exclaimed in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"I didn't want to see my plane go to pieces, but it didn't, so that's a relief," Rick replied as ROB landed the Great Fox in a safer position. "It pains me to see such a threat happen. By the way, what's the Star Fox team doing here?"

With Fox's help, Leo explained to Rick everything that had happened. "So all the events portrayed in that popular video game were all true," Rick made the comment. "Fascinating." He proceeded to tell his story to the Star Fox team, with the Star Wolf team telling theirs next. When all was said and done, Rick turned to Pigma's ship. "Wonder what's in that thing?" he asked.

"It's empty," Krystal replied. "Pigma died in the aparoid that engulfed him."

"Still, it's worth a look." Rick climbed into the ship and took a look at its damage, then found a clue. "A note!" he exclaimed. "I found a note!"

"What does it say?" Slippy asked.

Rick opened up the note and read it. "It says, 'To Pigma: If you found this note and are reading it, then you are under arrest for your role in putting the whole Lylat System in peril from the invasion of these bugs. Signed, General Pepper."

"I don't remember writing that," General Pepper exclaimed. "If I did, I did, but if I didn't, then who did?"

"I don't know, General," Peppy replied, "but whoever did, must've been really steamed at Pigma. Still, it doesn't explain why his ship turned on the auto pilot and came in here."

"This is a mystery we may never solve," Fox spoke up, "but it's still worth a try."

The ship's spare parts soon collapsed into a pile of rubble. After digging through it, Wolf found his team's emblem still painted on one of the parts. "This is your proof that he used to fight alongside me when Andross hired us," he said to Leo. "But as I stated earlier, we kicked him out, and if he had showed his filthy hide on my turf, we would've driven him out and tanned him."

"Was he supposed to have this?" Falco asked, picking up a destroyed aparoid hatcher. "This is an aparoid hatcher, but it's worthless because all aparoids are dead. I think it may prove vital to solving this caper."

"You just might be right about that," Leo replied. "Let me see that." Falco handed him the destroyed aparoid hatcher. "Fingerprints smeared into the paneling," he announced, after studying it. "This was Pigma's work, all right."

Suddenly, more strange creatures filled the air, and the citizens of the town were taking cover in their homes. "I thought you said the aparoids were dead," Leo spoke up in a confused tone.

"Those aren't aparoids," Fox replied after taking a look with his binoculars. "Those are demagars. A demagar is almost identical to an aparoid, but it won't suck up your soul. Also, there's no queen. They won't stop until all things are destroyed, and they can be destroyed only through the power of teamwork. I recognize these from my days in the Cornerian Flight Academy, which is also where I first met several of my team. In the meantime, let's go, team!"

Fox and his crew ran into the Great Fox and jumped into their respective Arwings, and Wolf's team boarded their respective Wolfen. Seeing as how the demagars had jammed the storage system and he couldn't get to his plane, Rick joined Leo inside the Great Fox for safety. ROB programmed the sequence, and Fox checked the communications line. "Green," he reported. "That means everything's A-OK. Let's go!"

"Launch all ships!" Peppy ordered. In no time at all, all four Arwings were up in the air and running. Using his own sequence, Wolf and his team blasted their Wolfen off from a 45-degree angle.

Soon everybody was firing their weapons, but it seemed like everybody was doing a ton of fighting and getting nowhere fast; for every demagar they took off, three more appeared to continue the battle. "How are we going to pull this off?" Falco complained. "There's no end to these wretched demagars."

"They aren't worth the time!" Wolf agreed.

"I'm sensing something," Krystal spoke up. Her telepathic powers were at work, more frantically than ever. "It's coming from Pigma's dead ship. It's transformed. Now it's a hatcher spitting out demagars."

"That dirty swine!" Falco replied in disgust. "He must've used this as a backup plan in case his aparoid idea didn't make him wealthy."

"He paid the price for it," Fox replied. "He paid with his life. Now we gotta take it down."

"I'll distract the demagars, pup," Wolf spoke up. "You take out the hatcher."

"Try out your bombs, Fox!" Slippy suggested.

"Do a loop!" Peppy exclaimed immediately afterwards, watching as a demagar approached Fox's Arwing. Fox did so, and the demagar crashed with the other demagar also aimed at Fox.

"Better do a barrel roll now," Falco replied as another one approached Krystal. When she executed the move, the demagar self-destructed.

Meanwhile, Fox, Slippy, and Leon tried out their bombs at the hatcher. Leon quickly ran out of bombs, and had to pull back. "Stupid bugs!" he complained. "It's no fun fighting unshakeable enemies! You're my prey!"

"Weapons do you no justice," Panther made the remark as he took out another demagar.

It was an exhausting battle, needless to say, but the heroes pulled it off in the end. They weren't going to let anybody in their new place of residence down, no matter what the cost. It turned out only the demagars took damage, and when Fox fired a bomb of his own at the hatcher, the explosion that resulted caused all demagars to self-destruct.

Crowds that gathered to watch the battle began cheering for the Lylat heroes, and when Leo emerged from the Great Fox with Rick, they cheered even more. Knowing better than to argue with them, Leo acknowledged the crowds with his trademark salute, and Rick followed suit. When Fox landed his Arwing and exited it, after telling its own auto pilot to return to the Great Fox, he also acknowledged the crowds by waving to them. Krystal, Peppy, Slippy, Falco, Wolf, Leon, and Panther did likewise.

That night, at a Mexican restaurant, everybody celebrated their victory. "Couldn't have done it without you guys, and you, too, Wolf," Fox smiled as he thanked everyone for their help.

"What's to be said?" Wolf replied. "It was tough, but you've gotten tougher every day, pup. Sorry I called you soft when I encountered you in the Sargasso Space Hideout. That's my turf. Or, it was my turf, and it was the best place I could've beaten you. But it was to no avail."

"It's all right," Fox nodded as he high-fived Wolf. "It feels better when everybody's on the same side."

"It sure beats trying to tan your hide," Wolf replied. "And if there ever comes a day when someone does tan it, it won't be me; I promise."

"That's not going to happen," Peppy spoke up. "Not if Leo has anything to say about it."

"Indeed," Leo added. "You shall be praised by the nation for this!"

"We're not in it for the money, but let them praise us," Fox replied. "This town looks like it's going to be all right after all."

THE END

* * *

_Star Fox © Nintendo  
Sonic the Hedgehog © SEGA  
Leo the Patriotic Lion and world © me and me alone; DO NOT STEAL!_


End file.
